a_dee93

I work at a nursing home. My floor is a combination of those who are there for long term care and those who are there just shortly for rehab. In total there are five units, each unit having three aides except for one, only having two because it is the independent floor. Anyways, we have this resident who, along with her family, are very difficult to deal with. She is an EZ lift resident but we were told during the night shift if she is persistent with wanting to have a BM, use the EZ stand to toilet her. I knew something was going to happen one week so I requested to not have her as my assignment on a Sunday. Monday night, I was off, they toileted her using the EZ stand for the first time in a while because she kept saying she needed to use the toilet and refused to go in her brief or use a bedpan. That Tuesday she was assigned to me and she is a morning get-up. The nurse told me not to get her up because she had a doctors visit at the hospital and that day shift would get her up. My shift ended at 7:00 but the daughter came in at 6:50 furious that her mother was not up yet. Supposedly at the doctors they claim she fractured her left shoulder and she says it's from the EZ stand. (Which we believe is false, she's fractured it before and the way she sits in her power chair along with other things that she does probably never helped heal it fully). Anyways, the daughters had a meltdown and now we HAVE to have four aides on our floor because two aides HAVE to go in the room. Two aides who used the EZ stand are not allowed in there and no male staff is allowed either. We HAVE to mark down in this journal every single time we go in the room, whether it's to empty trash or she pushed her call light. Even if she screams or is constantly pressing that light, we HAVE to drop whatever we are doing and go in there. I just don't understand how fair it is. We have 40 residents and yes, there are four aides, but come 4:30 when we begin getting people up for the day and finishing rounds, they still expect us to go in there. I've gotten in trouble because her light was on for five minutes while I was transferring an EZ lift resident and her roommate was in the bathroom. I can't leave them there by themselves or up in the air! It's so frustrating and so unfair to the other residents who deserve the same amount of care that we are putting into this woman. Any thoughts?

You're still new there. A lot of these residents who have been at these homes for YEARS with the same aides do not like change, they want the same person there who they've had for years. Don't take it to heart. I've been a CNA for over a year, worked at three different nursing homes. And there's always one resident who doesn't want me because they just flat out aren't used to me. It's no big deal. When given assignments they just assign me someone else. :)

I don't think you are allowed to do that? The most hours a person can work, I believe, is 16 hours, no more than that.

I work 40 hours a week. 11PM-7AM. I work every single Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We do block schedules. So, for example for me, Week One I will work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Week Two I will work Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. And it switches every other week.

I work 11PM-7AM. Between 11PM-12AM, we do checks to make sure no one is out of bed and everyone is breathing. Twice a week we do wheelchairs. We get the linen cart ready and our garbage/laundry containers ready. We also make sure all the EZ stands and lifts have fully charged batteries. We also pass out towels for those we wake up and get dressed come morning time along with cleaning the TV room if evening shift leaves it a mess. Also gotta make sure all our EZ lift residents have their slings. All while answering lights. 12AM-1AM, depending on the nurse, we just wait to officially receive our assignments. 1AM we begin doing our rounds, making sure the residents are safe and dry, clean their rooms, empty their trash, clean their bathrooms, etc. Vitals also need to be done by 2:00, no later than 2:30. 2AM-4AM We have to pass out briefs to our residents. We take turns taking our 30 minute lunch breaks (there's four aides on our floor). 4:30AM-7AM We do our last rounds and we get up five people each.

During the night shift we have a bin we bring around with garbage and the other bag has dirty laundry. When we are changing a resident, we bring their garbage can next to us and make sure there's a big in it and dispose of the brief and wipes in there. Then we tie up the bag and dispose of the brief. Or sometimes we just take out the brief and dispose it without a bag.

I've definitely cried several times at work because of either being hit by a resident or overwhelmed. It's just a part of the job and there is nothing to be ashamed of. I've seen nurses and other aides as well as the DON wipe away tears before.

I have yet to work any shift BUT night shift. Well, sometimes to get more hours I'd come to work the last few hours of evening shift but that's just laying people down to bed. I have worked 10PM-6AM, 6PM-6AM, 7PM-7A, and now I am currently working 11PM-7AM. It's a struggle but you get used to it. I'm only 21 years old and single with no kids so I guess I have it easy compared to others. I carpool with my mother because she works the same shift as me only at a hospital a few miles away. We take turns driving if one of us is too exhausted. I like to sleep immediately when I get home by 8:00, wake up around 12:00, then take another nap between 4:30-6:00 'til 9:45, depending on how I feel. Sometimes my mom likes to do her errands right after work which makes it easy too because normally grocery stores aren't that crowded at 7:30 in the morning and most things like bread are fresh. I drink LOTS of water, add in a coffee or soda during the shift. Sometimes I eat during my break, sometimes I eat before I go to work, but I always eat 'cause if I don't I get sick really easily. It just takes time for your body to get used to it. :)